Japan’s TsuShiMaMiRe, a band that works a disarming intersection of J-pop and funk-rock, exploits the feminine mystique to its own ends by toying with Western audiences’ Geisha expectations. The trio of fusioneers’ cutesy Josie & the Pussycats vibe and singer Mari’s girlish vocals are awash in punkette subversion. TsuShiMaMiRe made the Suicide Girls’ Charlotte date worthy last month, wowing Amos Southend’s prurient revelers with fun cuts from the current Pregnant Fantasy (Benten; HHH). TsuShiMaMiRe’s better at New Rock City garage cool than the Strokes, as opener “Umeboshi Plums — Big Seeds” and the fresh rockabilly rave-up “Lingerie Shop” attest. On “Ebihara Shinji,” bassist Yayoi unleashes a Cookie Monster growl mightier than all of Ozzfest, without losing her charm — then brings on the Bootsy bounce big time.
CocoRosie’s Bianca and Sierra Casady also elude the wispy girl-singer model. In 2004, the duo set some rock critics’ hearts aflutter, arriving via France smack in the New Weird Americana subset of freak-folk represented by Devendra Banhart, Vetiver and Joanna Newsom. The expat sisters share with Newsom a fondness for childish, craftsy album art, ethereality and witch-cackle vocals. Being half Cherokee, the sisters also infuse a whiff of tribalism and polemics into their whimsy. Ultimately, the Casadys’ main contribution to mass culture may be the stylized “art mullets” they sport, because their Dadaist, eclectic electronica is not ready for prime time. “Beautiful Boyz” has a Nina Simone flavor, but that encourages little endorsement of CocoRosie’s new Noah’s Ark (Touch and Go; HHH) beyond avant-folk arenas. If the Francophone rap of “Bisounnours” makes the dancefloor rounds, CocoRosie’s Bjork-esque blend of Eurotechno-trip-folk may penetrate the mainstream radar.
Someone with record-geek vision would peg the Casadys as Spawn of Cyndi — Lauper, that is. The 80s pop star was nothing if not the crucial Ray-Gun Era midwife for freak folk, and Sista She Bop proves it on The Body Acoustic (Epic/Daylight; HHH 1/2). Pat Benatar and Madonna may’ve had more hits — working, respectively, the around-the-way tough chick and Dietrich-esque sex bomb personae — but the underrated Lauper was the more unique of those bad girls. As a preteen bohemian aspirant whose aesthetic was still in flux in the early 80s, I saw the composer of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (along with those sublime bluenote androgynes, Annie Lennox and Boy George) as fine role models. Ultimately, Lauper mattered to those of us who would walk a different path, for her kooky edginess and bold voice were transparently genuine. Lauper’s new disc gives her own back pages a mostly unplugged remix. A sometimes-inspired cast accompanies her: Sarah McLachlan on “Time After Time,” Ani DiFranco and Vivian Green on “Sisters of Avalon,” Cartoon Network stars Puffy Ami Yumi on “Girls.” Mr. Boombastic Shaggy even stops by for “All Through the Night.” Lauper’s voice now sounds rather like a sweeter version of Marianne Faithfull’s post-Broken English burr, and that’s a good thing. The version of “I’ll Be Your River” is almost like Laura Nyro come again — a chill-inducing performance, the disc’s finest.
Lennox’ catalog is also revisited, in the form of the Eurythmics Ultimate Collection (Arista; HHH). It’s easy to forget just how avant-garde Lennox was in her deconstruction of the feminine. Or how fine her blue-eyed soul pipes were — except when she overreached herself on duets with Aretha Franklin and Al Green. The parade of hits, including “Sweet Dreams,” are exciting samples of when hybridity could still be embraced by mainstream radio.
Finally, 60s blues singer Ms. Bettye LaVette, of “My Man” fame, is the latest beneficiary of musician-producer Joe Henry’s retronuevo soul resuscitation mission. As with King Solomon Burke’s recent comeback smash, Henry provides tasteful sonic settings on I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti; HHHH). No funk is faked, as LaVette’s gritty, grown-ass pipes — which may remind some of Tina Turner — fearlessly delve into the emotional cores of songs written by today’s crop of trouble girls: Fiona Apple, Joan Armatrading, Sinead O’Connor and Aimee Mann. Best among these are LaVette’s magnificent country-soul take on Mann’s “How Am I Different” and her unrepentant intoning of the title lyric in the coda of Apple’s “Sleep To Dream.” Even as the sound fades, LaVette remains all-powerful.
This article appears in Nov 16-22, 2005.
